Best Vape Starter Kit Reviews 2018

Although most often considered as aimed at beginner vapers, the term best vape starter kit actually refers to a kit which includes all the main vaping components which you can buy and use out of the box for all vapers including intermediate and advanced.

Since there are virtually ​hundreds of starter kits out there, we'll help you decide which kit to buy by providing the essential info and present the reviews of our top pics in this category.

To make it as simple as possible, we’ve come up with this guide and review article so let’s start at the beginning.

A vape starter kit includes a mod and an atomizer with a preinstalled coil which is wicked (mostly with Japanese cotton nowadays) and ready to vape once you fill the tank with your favorite e-liquid. You also get a USB cable for charging and software upgrading and a user manual.

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In addition, some vape starter kits also include spare parts for the atomizer and one or two extra coil heads of the same or different resistance and heating wire.

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The Mod

These come in different wattages from moderate 30 watts to powerful 220 watts. They usually come without a battery so you will have to buy one or two, depending whether the mod is single or dual 18650.

Some mods, however, have a built-in battery, again with different power output and the capacity. The power output is clearly indicated in the specs and the integrated battery may come with capacity ranging from 1,000mAh all the way up to 5,000mAh.

The choice of the mod should take more consideration because you will be able to use a range of different atomizers other than the one in the kit using the same mod. The same goes for deciding whether to choose the mod without the battery or with one.

The advantages of the mods without batteries are huge: you can use a quality 18650 battery (or batteries) of your choice. When they are drained, you simply pop out the battery door, and replace the battery. Apart from a spare pair of batteries, you need a quality battery charger. This way, you can continuously use your vape starter kit.

Alternatively, all mods have onboard charging via USB so you can recharge the battery using a regular USB charger and wall adapter. If the mod has a balanced charging, you’ll be safe and the batteries will work fine.

I always recommend a few spare batteries and an external 18650 battery charger. They are made for the purpose of recharging and they save vape time.

The mods with an internal battery also have some advantages. You don’t have to have spare batteries and an external charger. However, once the integrated battery is drained, you need to plug the mod to charge it. Also, when the internal battery loses its capacity after about 300 charging cycles, you need to buy a new mod.

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The Atomizer

Most atomizers which come with the kit match the design and the dimensions of the mod. Some tanks can be found in several different kits complementing different mods.

The majority of the tanks come with preinstalled coil heads so all you need to do is prime the head for the first time, fill the tank with your favorite juice and vape!

If you don’t prime the coil head (saturate the wicking material by dripping the juice straight from the bottle onto the coil head liquid intake holes), you can fill the tank and let it sit for a few minutes until the wicking material is fully saturated.

Again, if you like the tank, you can use it on other box ﻿﻿﻿﻿m﻿﻿ods, just like you can use the mod from the kit with your personal favorite sub-ohm tank or RDA. You may not get that matchy-matchy look but you can certainly make your own personalized combos.

A great feature of atomizers in kits is if they come with a few extra coils or, better still, with a rebuildable coil head. If that is not the case, make sure to do a little research if there is a RBA head available separately so that you can make your own coils.

Don’t forget to check whether the atomizer is suitable for your style of vaping (direct to lung or mouth to lung). Also consider whether the coil heads included are in the power range that you like. For example, a 0.2 ohm Kanthal A1 coil head is for 80-100W, 0.5 ohm is for 30-40W and a M2L head of 1.8 ohms is for 9-11W for mouth to lung style of vaping.

If you use temperature control on you mods, check whether the atomizer comes with SS, Ni or/and Ti heads and when you use these, adjust the TC mode accordingly.

Lastly, if the atomizer in the kit doesn’t come with an RBA head and there isn’t one available for you to buy separately, check that the prices of replacement coil heads are affordable.

The Design

As we said, there are matchy-matchy combos for everyone’s taste so, apart from the performance features, you can choose between box mods or tubular mods or even vape pens, depending on your preferences and budget.

We do recommend buying a vape kit by renowned manufacturers and from reputable shops. The best starter kits will most likely be made of good materials and perform well.

As for the design and a multitude of colors available, the choice is overwhelming so read our reviews and pick a vape kit which suits your needs and fits the budget.

It features one of the most advanced SMOK displays and chipsets to date to deliver up to 220W of power in three output modes. The full temperature control works as intended and the menu is easy enough to adjust all the settings.

You will need to buy the two high-drain 18650 batteries separately and marry them in order for them to run in series perfectly and safely. This mod will let you chuck those thick clouds and enjoy your yummy juice effortlessly.

The much-loved TFV8 Baby Beast sub-ohm tank complements the Alien mod perfectly. The compact size and the 3 ml capacity are brilliantly combined with a range of SMOK coil heads you can use.

The Alien 220W TC kit by SMOK includes a dual coil V8 Baby Q2 Core. This baby beast is designed to be run between 40 to 80W. In addition, you also get one octuple core V8 Baby T8 head which performs best in the range of 50 to 110W, depending on your vaping preferences.

ASPIRE ZELOS 50W NAUTILUS 2 STARTER KIT is a welcome kit for the mouth to lung and restricted direct lung style of vaping. In addition, it’s a perfect kit for those of you who prefer an internal battery. Zelos has a 2500 mAh battery which provides ample vape time at low and moderate wattages.

Matched with Nautilus 2 tank, this is a perfect mouth to lung starter kit!​

The Aspire Zelos kit includes the Zelos 50w TC box mod, the Nautilus 2 tank, a kanthal 1.8 ohm coil, a kanthal 0.7 ohm coil and one derlin drip tip. You will also find a spare SS drip tip, a spare glass tank, a micro USB cable, and the user manuals.

The Zelos 50W TC box mod has a solid 510 connection made of stainless steel and with a smooth threading. The positive pin is gold plated and it has a short but firm throw to it. The dimensions of the mod restrict the choice of atomizers up to 22mm, which is a standard for M2L vaping.

The screen is easy to read and bright enough. It has a really cool auto flip feature: whichever way you hold the mod, the screen will automatically flip so that you can read the data conveniently.

The Nautilus 2 tank is top fill and wide open for filling as it comes without a traditional chimney top cap. The airflow is adjustable and the AF holes are on one side only. There are 5 holes, each smaller than the previous one, which allows you to really tweak your airflow preferences. The 510 on the tank base is gold plated and the threading is really smooth.

In the kit you get 1.8 ohm coil for M2L vaping and one 0.7 ohm coil for restricted D2L style.​

The tank doesn't leak and, if you like the design resembling a diving helmet and the stealthy 2ml capacity tank, you will enjoy this popular matchy-matchy starter kit​ from Aspire.

Tarot Nano 80W TC Starter Kit is yet another powerful and innovative starter kit from Vaporesso. This is a nano version of a brilliant Tarot Kit packing the same quality and versatile features in a stealthy kit.

The Vaporesso Tarot Nano box mod provides a superb vaping experience to novice, intermediary, and advanced vapers alike. It is meticulously designed to provide for a stylish look and exceptional performance.

The brilliant octagonal design is complemented by the gorgeous OLED screen which is bright and easy to read. The carbon fiber panels are another gorgeous feature resulting in one of the most stylish designs to date.

Made of zinc-aluminum alloy, the Vaporesso Tarot Nano box mod guarantees durability, resilience, and high resistance to wear and tear. What’s more it’s light weight and ideal piece of hardware to take when you’re up and about.

The threading, 510 connector, and buttons are made of 304-grade stainless steel. The mod is powered by an internal 2500mAh and controlled by the advanced OMNI board chip.

Apart from wattage mode, the cutting-edge OMNI Board performs great in temperature control providing additional more advanced and highly-personalized settings. As expected, the firmware is upgradeable using the USB port which has the primary function of charging the internal 2,500mAh battery

As for the The Vaporesso Veco Tank, it is made of 304 stainless steel with quality Pyrex (borosilicate) glass tank which is impervious to the acidic juices and delivers a significantly purer, and more enjoyable taste.

The Vaporesso Veco Tank has a top-positioned, dual-adjustable airflow control valve. By rotating the adjustment wheel clockwise or counter-clockwise, you can enjoy tighter or airier hits, based on your airflow preferences. In addition, the tank is fully leak-proof.

The Eco Atomizer Coils perform really well and are available in different wire and resistance options which all deliver thick vapor and enjoyable flavorful hits. The kit includes 0.4 ohm Clapton regular EUC Coil and one 0.5 ohm 316L ceramic EUC coil.

Probably as the result of the battle of two competitors, Smok with their Alien and Wismec with the Predator, we may now witness the beginning of the Alien vs. Predator saga which will, hopefully, continue in the future. Who will benefit from this glorious battle? Well, us, vapers, of course!

The battery door comes with a hinge lock and it’s easy to open once the batteries are inside to add push. When the compartment is empty, it’s a tad more difficult to open the door.

The Predator has the new and improved 510 connection with the pin which now has the ideal amount of throw to it in order to accommodate long 510 pin atomizers. It’s moved from the edge of the mod towards the center so it can easily take atomizers up to 28-mm in diameter without overhang.

The 0.96-inch OLED display is bright and a good size and it has separate battery indicators which I hope will become the standard with dual 18650 mods. Most of you who love simplicity combined with functionality will like the display as it comes with all the basic info avoiding unnecessary info overkill.

The latest chipset from Wismec features a wattage output rating of 1 to 228W with support down to 0.1 to 3.5 ohms and an improved buck-boost technology for a steadier power output. The TC mode supports Ni200 Nickel, titanium and SS316L and you also have TCR for fine tuning.

The Elabo Tank performs well above average and features an innovative refilling system that doubles as a child lock. The tank measures 25 mm in diameter and 52.8 mm in length. It has an e-liquid capacity of 4.6 ml with the larger of the two included coil heads and 4.9 ml with the smaller one.

It has a bottom airflow which consists of four mid-sized slots (two on each side). The slots can be opened and closed with a metal ring with stoppers on both sides.

The 3-piece design allows you to unscrew the base of the tank and change the atomizer coil without having to drain the tank. Simply drop in a coil head and screw the base back on to the top section and you’re good to go.

Overall, Predator 228 is a solid kit at a fair price with reliable performance and an elegant design. The more quality materials and innovative design and performance solutions Wismec throws at Smok, the better the products we can expect from both companies and the more enjoyment for the vapers around the globe. And Wismec has certainly thrown a good punch with the Predator kit!

All new Omni board 2.0 combined with decent size OLED screen and solid buttons with no rattle at all will perfectly fit your hand, as it does mine. I opted for orange finish, for a change as most of my mods are either SS or black.

The battery is inserted once you twist open the top cap and the whole process is super-easy and quick. The 510 connection next to the battery cap can take 23mm atomizers and the threading is nice and smooth. I’ve had no problems with RDAs with longer 510 pin, which is good news.

The 80W maximum output is more than enough for single 18650 configuration and the mod performs well. There is TC support for SS316, titanium and Ni200 Nickel along with TCR features for both power and TC mode with preheat in 0.5 seconds increments. The mod is firmware upgradeable and has a USB on-board charging as well.

The NRG SE Tank by Vaporesso has a twist-open design, smooth adjustable bottom air flow from the NRT tanks family. It is 22mm wide, perfectly matching the new Swag 80W Mod while keeping the same universal compatibility coil selections.

The tank can be easily disassembled into five parts, drip tip, top cap, glass tube, coil head and the base. It performs decent and has 3.5ml juice capacity. You get one GT2 Core 0.4 ohm coil and one GT CCELL 0.4 ohm ceramic coil.

To sum up, Swag 80W by Vaporesso is a lightweight, ergonomic and well-performing kit. The quality finish and the original design, as well as super-stealthy 18650 feel make it stand out from the other single battery mods. I sincerely recommend this one.

E Cigarette Pro's was started by a collective group with a passion for vaping. Up until this day over 250+ Vape products have been tested. Our aim is to provide the end user value for money without compromising on quality.